Lester Holt, the former Chicago newsman who rose to the top echelon of broadcast news, is stepping down from his the anchor job on “NBC Nightly News.”
The announcement Monday from NBC News did not specify why Holt, who turns 66 on March 8, was leaving the desk. In a note to colleagues, Holt said only that “the time has come” for the move.
He said he will be “expanding my footprint” at the prime-time newsmagazine “Dateline NBC,” where Holt has been anchor since 2011.
His “Nightly News” run will end “around the start of summer.” There was no announcement of a successor.
A California native, Holt was anchoring at Chicago’s WBBM-Channel 2 when he took a job at the new cable channel MSNBC. In time he began appearing on sister channel NBC and he replaced the demoted Brian Williams as “Nightly News” anchor in 2015.
“Quite simply, Lester is the beating heart of this news organization,” said Janelle Rodriguez, senior vice president of NBC News, in Monday’s announcement.